Amazon is preparing to open its third distribution center in Kern County — a "last-mile" hub at the former Kmart shopping center on Wilson Road — after a two-year delay that was part of a nationwide development pullback preceded by lagging sales.

The e-commerce giant said by email it expects this summer to begin operating the $20 million, 128,000-square-foot center planned to receive six truckloads of consumer goods per day, then sort and home-deliver it all with about 20 vans. It is much smaller than Amazon's centers in Oildale and Shafter.